Fret not. A year from now, simply zipping down from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar Phase-I on an upcoming stretch of the Barapullah corridor will let you relive the glorious moments you once experienced on Mumbai’s iconic cable-stayed bridge.

This portion of the Barapullah corridor – being constructed as part of its third phase – is expected to cut travel time between the south and east districts of the national capital by an hour, decongesting the Ring Road and national highway-24 in the process. Once it is finished, motorists can expect a signal-free ride from Mayur Vihar to INA – complete with a one-km stretch extending over the Yamuna river.

However, the cable-stayed portion of the Barapullah corridor won’t be as long as that of its Mumbai counterpart. “Only four pillars on the Yamuna, with sixteen pylons, will be connected by cables. Each pylon will hold six German-made cables. We will place the order after the ongoing land acquisition issues over monetary compensation are resolved,” said a PWD official.

Though the original deadline for completing the elevated corridor was October 2017, PWD officials say it won’t be ready before May 2018 due to the government’s failure to acquire a portion of land near the Yamuna. The structure may take even longer if the issue is not resolved by March-end.

The Barapullah corridor, Delhi’s first-ever elevated structure of the kind, was commissioned in the run-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

While an elevated road from Sarai Kale Khan to Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium was opened in the first phase, three loops easing traffic between Maharani Bagh, Sidhartha Enclave, Friends Colony and Sarita Vihar were opened in phase 2 . The corridor is expected to be further extended to INA by March, but work on the 10-km stretch between Sarai Kale Khan and Mayur Vihar Phase-I is stuck due to land acquisition issues.

“We are installing fewer pillars on the Yamuna stretch to ensure that the river is not disturbed. So, while a regular flyover has pillars at a distance of 30-40 metres each, we will be constructing these at gaps of 127.5 metres. This strategy requires us to hold the structure up with cables. The pylon will tower 30 metres over the flyover, which will be 17 metres above the river bed,” the official said.

Extending the Barapullah corridor from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar Phase-I is expected to cost ~964 crore. Once completed, it will reduce the travel time between the places from 90 minutes to 30 – benefitting thousands of commuters who ply the route every day.

A similar cable bridge – dubbed the Signature Bridge – is coming up in East Delhi, though officials hope to finish the Barapullah corridor first.